Its been a bit of a winding road for the 2013 draft-eligible Voltin, who up until a few weeks ago was playing for the United States National Team Development Program U-17 team.

The University of North Dakota commit had three goals and six points in 11 games before he was dismissed from the program for undisclosed reasons. Considered one of the best forwards in his age group (1995), Voltin quickly shot down the possibility of playing Major Junior for Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (who own his rights) and reaffirmed his commitment to North Dakota. Returning to Hill-Murray High School in Minnesota didn’t seem like an option; nor would have it been beneficial for his development.

So as a free agent of sorts, Voltin was claimed in a process similar to a waiver wire by the Chicago Steel. Despite numerous attempts by Chicago’s front office to get Voltin to report, he refused and instead gave the Steel two locations that he preferred to play – Green Bay and Fargo. Neither The Gamblers nor The Force showed interest in obtaining Voltin from Chicago, however.

That didn’t stop interest from other teams. The Steel fielded calls and combed through the affiliate lists looking for a proper return until Des Moines indicated interest about Voltin in Muskegon at the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game Tuesday Night.

After some discussion, Chicago dealt Voltin to Des Moines in return for Eric Sade, a 1994-born defenseman playing for New Mexico of the North American Hockey League. The five-foot-11, 185-pound blueliner is a Cornell recruit and recently was named to U18 Selects team that will play at the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament in February.

Chicago gets a player who will report next year, a key issue for a team trying to build itself from the ground up while Des Moines get a player who can help them march toward a Clark Cup next season.

For Luke Voltin, he gets a place to play in a league he is familiar with and will continue to build momentum toward the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.